All of us who know the power of prayer yearn to pray more effectively. We long to grow in our ability to cooperate with God in prayer so that His will can increasingly be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We continually cry out, as the disciples did, “Lord, teach us to pray!”
Recently, the Lord has been answering that cry in my life by directing my attention not just to prayer itself, but to the other disciplines of the Christian life—things like Bible study, meditation, worship, and fasting.
Why is God speaking to me about these things?
Because there is more to prayer than just lifting our voices to the Lord. Prayer is the expression of our lives in God. It is the out breathing of our union and communion with Him. The more robust and healthy that union becomes, the more powerful our prayer lives will be. The more we behold Him and are changed into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18), the more fully our prayers will conform to His perfect will and thus the more swiftly and mightily they will be answered.
That means if we want to grow in prayer, we must get more serious about what God wants to do within us. We must gaze longer and more intently into the mirror of His Word. We must diligently pursue a stronger, more vital fellowship with Him.
Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:8 – 14
On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”
Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!
What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”